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homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r

5 messages,  Last post on Feb 13, 2007 at 12:17 PM

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#1 of 5 homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r by thesandman7

Feb 10, 2007 (10:07 am)

i recently had the bad luck of dropping the stainless steel fuel line retainer nut down the intake runner in my 2000 blazer. as anyone knows, magnets do not exactly draw to stainless steel. after racking my brain for 2 days and almost resigning myself to the possibility that i would have to remove the lower intake and possibly the head, i came up with this nifty little trick that i would like to share with you. i don't know if anyone has done this before and if they have, i apologize. for the cost of about $10.00, it works. here goes. you need:
 
a large baby bottle nipple found in the infanst section of the local Walmart or similar store
 
an at least 2 foot section of 1/2 inch I.D. soft vinyl tubing from Home Depot or similar hardware store
 
your wife's vacuum cleaner or your shop vac
 
  cut the tip off the nipple, as much as you think is neccesary then slide the tube thru. leave about 1 inch inside the nipple. using the vacuum cleaner hose attachment, slip the large end of the nipple over the hose attachment. it should be a tight fit. once you have it attached, test it to make sure everything is attached right. slip the tube down the runner and turn on the vacuum. wiggle the tube around until you hear the sound of the nut or part being sucked into the tube. you'll know, believe me. remove the tube and turn off the vac right away. pat yourself on the back many times.
 
the vinyl tubing comes in different lengths from Home Depot or any hardware store. this worked for me and i hope it comes in handy for some of you out there that find themselves in the same pickle.

#2 of 5 Re: homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r [thesandman7] by steve_ HOST

Feb 10, 2007 (11:00 am)

Replying to: thesandman7 (Feb 10, 2007 10:07 am)
Got any photos? This trick would make a handy Guide!

#3 of 5 Re: homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r [thesandman7] by tidester

Feb 10, 2007 (2:11 pm)

Replying to: thesandman7 (Feb 10, 2007 10:07 am)
as anyone knows, magnets do not exactly draw to stainless steel.
 
That depends on the which stainless steel you're talking about. 400 series stainless works just fine with magnets. You're probably looking at 300 series. The relative amounts of chrome and nickel determine whether the stainless is magnetic.
 
tidester, host

#4 of 5 Re: homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r [tidester] by jlflemmons

Feb 13, 2007 (11:40 am)

Replying to: tidester (Feb 10, 2007 2:11 pm)
Jim's corollary to Murphy's Law states, "The magnetic properties of an object dropped into an inaccessable space are inversly proportional to the cost, importance, and potential damage caused by leaving said object in that inaccessable space."

#5 of 5 Re: homemade small retrieving tool for those things that fall down the intake r [jlflemmons] by tidester

Feb 13, 2007 (12:17 pm)

Replying to: jlflemmons (Feb 13, 2007 11:40 am)
Yeah, I think I read that in a physics text once!
 
tidester, host

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